Beaufort Neighbors Say Dirty Ditches Cause Flooding

Thursday night's heavy rains caused big problems for many homeowners on Mink Point Boulevard in Beaufort, like Danny Williams. "We have one bathroom that we can't use at all," he said. "The other one, if you do flush it, you had better be careful because it will overflow."

But this is a problem Williams says happens every time Beaufort gets a heavy rain because the ditches aren't taken care of. In fact in the past three years, it's happened a dozen times.

"When a heavy rain comes the ditches in the front fill up," Williams explained. "All of these houses, the drain fields are in the front yard and there's no place for the water to go." z

Neighbors like Gloria Doctor say all that water in the ditches ended up flooding her home from the bathrooms to the hallway, the bedroom and the closet.

"I'm a taxpayer like everyone else and I expect that to be taken care of," said Doctor.

Williams says he's alerted county officials to the problem several times but never saw any results. Now, the county says the ditches are actually maintained by the South Carolina Department of Transportation. Their engineers say the cause isn't the ditches, but a problem with both neighbors' septic tanks. However, both Williams and Doctor say they've hired plumbers, who say the problem is the ditches.

"I know it's a lot of rain, but you shouldn't have to pump your septic tank out every couple of months," said Williams.

Neighbors say they are worried about the next big rain. They're hoping engineers with the state's DOT will find a solution to the problem.

Fifteen years ago, I had the honor of introducing 6-year-old Coletrane Williams to all of you when he was in the running to be the face of The GAP Store kids line. Now, he’s introducing himself to the world as one of the stars of the OWN Network’s new hit show "Love Is…"

Fifteen years ago, I had the honor of introducing 6-year-old Coletrane Williams to all of you when he was in the running to be the face of The GAP Store kids line. Now, he’s introducing himself to the world as one of the stars of the OWN Network’s new hit show "Love Is…"